CITY OKS COASTAL PLAN, INFURIATING BLUFFTOP HOMEOWNERS

Property owners outraged by latest revisions to rules

Solana Beach is moving ahead with plans to change rules governing everything from sea walls at the city’s eroding bluffs to home remodels along the coastline.

The City Council on Wednesday night gave its blessing to a land-use plan 13 years in the making that would govern virtually all development in the coastal city. The council on Feb. 27 had approved 153 changes that the California Coastal Commission made to an earlier version of the planning guide, but promised to come back with amendments making it more palatable to property owners outraged at what they called overreaching by the state agency.

If there is a word to describe how coastal property owners feel about the latest revisions, try this: furious.

“This is an unconscionable and unconstitutional taking of property,” said Pam Richardson, who lives at the Seascape Shores condos on South Sierra Avenue.

But supporters of the proposed changes, which now return to the Coastal Commission this fall for final approval, argued that compromises will make bluff-top development and renovations much easier to complete. And City Attorney Johanna Canlas told the council that numerous properties already have deed restrictions that set down terms similar to what is being imposed by the new rules.

The Surfrider Foundation environmental group has been working to get rid of Solana Beach’s sea walls for more than a generation, saying the structures contribute to the city’s shrinking beaches, arguing that the concrete casings prevent sand from being replenished.

Both sides agree that if nothing is done, the Coastal Commission will continue to dictate who can get a permit to build or modify a home, sea wall or beach staircase.

Property owners are upset that they may have to reapply every 20 years for permits allowing them to keep the sea walls — which can cost several hundred thousand dollars each — that protect their homes. And they are outraged over a policy that could limit them from repairing or remodeling homes along the coast, depending on how much work is needed and how close they are to the shore.

Finally, the new guidelines state that if more than half of a stairway from a home to the beach is repaired, it becomes public property.

But some on the council argued that only stairways on public land would be affected.

“The people who are using those private stairways can rest assured they will remain private,” Councilwoman Lesa Heebner said.

Jon Corn, an attorney for several property owners, wasn’t swayed. He called the action “an atrocious and illegal policy choice for the city.” Recent lawsuits challenging the coastal land-use plan adopted in February appear likely to move forward, Corn said.

A homeowners group calling itself the Beach & Bluff Conservancy sued the city April 26, challenging the coastal plan and seeking to invalidate the new regulations about sea walls and bluff-top development. The same group sued the Coastal Commission last year over its role in shaping the plan.

Similar lawsuits were filed against Solana Beach by resident Joseph Steinberg and several condominium associations.